Invitation to comment on EPBC Act nomination to transfer from the vulnerable category to the endangered category: Rostratula australis (Australian painted snipe) Anyone may nominate a native species, ecological community or threatening process for listing under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). You are invited to provide comment on the attached nomination to assist the Threatened Species Scientific Committee (the Committee) with its assessment of whether the species is eligible for inclusion in the EPBC Act list of threatened species, and, if eligible, the category in which it is eligible to be included. The Committee welcomes the views of experts, stakeholders and the general public on nominations to further inform its nomination assessment process. In order to determine if a species, ecological community or threatening process is eligible for listing under the EPBC Act, a rigorous scientific assessment of its status is undertaken. These assessments are undertaken by the Committee to determine if an item is eligible for listing against a set of criteria as set out in the guidelines for nominating and assessing threatened species and ecological communities, and threatening processes. These are available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/nominations.html To assist in this matter, the Committee has identified a series of specific questions on which it seeks particular guidance (Part A). The nomination for this species is provided in Part B. Individual nominations may vary considerably in quality. Therefore in addition to the information presented in the nomination, the Committee also takes into account published data and considers other information received when it prepares its advice for the Minister. Responses to this consultation will be provided in full to the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. In providing comments, please provide references to published data where possible. Should the Committee use the information you provide in formulating its advice, the information will be attributed to you and referenced as ‘personal communication’ unless you provide references or otherwise attribute this information. The Committee’s advice may be published on the department’s website at completion of the assessment and decision by the Minister. Information provided through consultation may be subject to freedom of information legislation and court processes. It is also important to note that under the EPBC Act, the deliberations and recommendations of the Committee are confidential until the Minister has made a final decision on the nomination, unless otherwise determined by the Minister. The views expressed within the attached nomination (Part B) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Australian Government. The Australian Government and the Committee do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents of the nomination. Included here for your consideration of the nomination are: Part A Specific questions identified by the Committee Part B Nomination form as submitted Part A – Questions on which the Committee is seeking particular guidance 1. Can you comment on whether or not there is sufficient evidence that this entity is a distinct species? 2. Has the survey effort for this species been adequate to determine its national distribution and adult population size? Has the nomination considered the entire national extent of the species? 3. Is the distribution as described in the nomination valid? 4. Do you accept the estimate of the total population size of the species? 5. Do you consider the way the population size has been derived to be appropriate? 6. Are you aware of any additional evidence/data which show that the population is stable, increasing or declining? 7. Do you agree that the threats listed are correct and that their effects on the species are significant? 8. In seeking to facilitate the recovery of this species, can you provide management advice for the following: a. What individuals or organisations are currently, or need to be, involved in planning to abate threats and are there any other relevant planning issues? b. What threats are impacting on different populations, how variable are the threats and what is the relative importance of the different populations? c. What recovery actions are currently in place, and can you suggest other actions that would help recover the species? Please provide evidence and background information. 9. Can you provide additional data or information relevant to this assessment? 10. Have you been involved in developing this nomination? Part B – Nomination Section 1 - Legal Status, Distribution, Biological, Ecological Conservation Theme How does this nomination relate to the conservation theme? Not applicable - there is no conservation theme for the 2011 assessment period. Taxonomy 2. What are the currently Scientific name: Rostratula australis. accepted scientific and Common name: Australian Painted Snipe. common name/s for the species (please include Indigenous names, where known)? Note any other scientific names that have been used recently. Note the species authority and the Order and Family to which the species belongs (Family name alone is sufficient for plants, however, both Order and Family name are required for insects). 3. Is this species Until recently, the Australian Painted Snipe was considered conventionally accepted? If to be a subspecies of Rostratula benghalensis, a species not, explain why. Is there any that occurs across Africa and Asia (Marchant & Higgins controversy about the 1993). However, Lane & Rogers (2000) recommended taxonomy? treating the subspecies found in Australia (australis) as a full species based on its distinctive appearance, call, measurements and anatomy. Following this, Baker et al (2007) ran mitochondrial DNA sequencing on Painted Snipe and concluded that it is a full species which would have diverged ~19mya ago. Christidis & Boles (2008) have also recognized it as a full species. However the taxon has not been assessed by IUCN because it is not yet recognized as a full species by BirdLife International. They are responsible for the avian section of the IUCN Red List. 4. If the species is NOT conventionally accepted, please provide: (i) a taxonomic description of the species in a form suitable for publication in conventional scientific literature; OR (ii) evidence that a scientific institution has a specimen of the species and a written statement signed by a person who has relevant taxonomic expertise (has worked, or is a published author, on the class of species nominated), that the person thinks the species is a new species. 5. Is this species taxonomically distinct (Taxonomic distinctiveness – a measure of how unique a species is relative to other species)? Legal Status 5. What is the species’ current The current conservation status of the Australian Painted conservation status under Snipe Rostratula australis under Australian and Australian and State/Territory State/Territory Government legislation is as follows: Government legislation? National: Listed as Vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Queensland: Listed as Vulnerable under the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 as Rostratula benghalensis. New South Wales: Listed as Endangered under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 as Rostratula benghalensis australis. Victoria: Listed as Threatened under the Threatened List 2006 supplementing the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act 1988 as Rostratula benghalensis. South Australia: Listed as Rare under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 (Schedule 9) as Rostratula benghalensis Western Australia: Listed as Rare or Likely to Become Extinct on the Wildlife Conservation (Specially Protected Fauna) Notice 2006(2) as Rostratula benghalensis australis. Northern Territory: Listed as Vulnerable under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2000 as Rostratula benghalensis australis. 6. Does the species have Listed in the bilateral CAMBA legislation. specific protection (e.g. listed on an annex or appendix) under other legislation or intergovernmental arrangements, e.g. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Description 7. Give a brief description of the The Australian Painted Snipe is a stocky wading bird around species’ appearance, including 220-250 mm in length with a long pinkish bill. The adult size and/or weight, and sex and female, more colourful than the male, has a chestnut- age variation if appropriate; coloured head, with white around the eye and a white crown social structure and dispersion stripe, and metallic green back and wings, barred with black (e.g. solitary/clumped/flocks). and chestnut. There is a pale stripe extending from the shoulder into a V down its upper back. The adult male is similar to the female, but lacking chestnut in the head, nape and throat. It is generally smaller and duller with buff spots on the wings (New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service 2006). This species is generally seen singly or in pairs, less often in small flocks. Flocking does occur during breeding. Adults sometimes form loose gatherings around each group of nests; flocks may also form after breeding, and at some locations small groups regularly occur (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Groups comprising a male and up to 6 offspring have been recorded (xxx